How long has this been dragging on? The process of holding Iran accountable has been so halting and drawn out, and the steps taken to halt their nuclear program so ineffective, that it will in all likelihood drag on until some morning when the world wakes up to an Iranian nuclear test. And people will wonder how that happened, or was allowed to happen.
In the meantime, few countries or organizations seem to have much of a sense of urgency about what is at stake here. The most likely course of action, if any, will be to throw yet another UN resolution at the problem and resume the waiting game. “IAEA receives more evidence Iran nuke program military,” from Reuters, June 6:
VIENNA – The UN atomic watchdog has received further information regarding activities that “seem to point to the existence” of possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear program, the agency’s head said on Monday.
Amano’s statement underlined the UN body’s concern that the Islamic Republic may be working to develop a nuclear-armed missile. Tehran rejects such suspicions, saying its nuclear program has only civilian aims, mainly generating electricity.
“Uh, yeah. Honest. You can’t hug the Mahdi with nuclear arms.”
Amano did not disclose the source of the new information.
For several years, the IAEA has been investigating Western intelligence reports indicating Iran had coordinated efforts to process uranium, test explosives at high altitude and revamp a ballistic missile cone so it can take a nuclear warhead.
Amano said he had written last month to the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, “reiterating the agency’s concerns about the existence of possible military dimensions.”
He had also asked for Iran to “provide prompt access” to locations, equipment, documentation and officials to help clarify the agency’s queries.
Amano made clear that Iran’s response had not been satisfactory, saying he had sent a new letter to Abbasi-Davani on June 3 “in which I reiterated the agency’s requests to Iran.”